Mathil Mel Poonai

The music was released at a function in Chennai on 5th September. This will be first time Vijay Vasanth would be playing a solo hero in a movie. The music director Ganesh Raghavendra got his first break with Renigunta which he followed up with some more successes. The film has a debut director and a debut producer too. The movie and the music have already garnered some craze following the release of the HIT Simbu number which is nicknamed ‘Chennai Anthem’.

Cast: Vijay Vasanth, Vibha, Karthik and Thambi Ramaiah

Director: Barani Jayapal

Music Director: Ganesh Raghavendra

SONG NAME

SINGER(S)

LYRICIST

RATING

Manasa Thirudiya

Tippu

Karunakaran

Vandharai Vazhavaikum

Simbu

Ansar Abbaz

Oru poo Pookiradhu

Harish Raghavendra,Harini

Yugabharathi

Irulai Katti vai

Lawrence, Abilasha

Velmurugan

Rathathin Nuraraiya

Satyan, Maharajan TL

Thamarai

1. Manasa Thirudiya

A melody track with a classical music base and a kiss of folk to it. Tippu does a good job and makes the song heart-warming with his display of classical music expertise. The fusion of the traditional Indian instruments with the western instruments gives the track a unique feel with the use of guitar, piano, table, dholak and santoor. The classical and folk notes in between bring the difference to an otherwise run of the mill song. Karunakaran’s words charm one and all. The song comes across as a cool breeze that wafts across your face.

2. Vandharai Vazhavaikum

With Simbu pitching in, the expectations are always high and Simbu delivers to the T. The song has already gone viral on youtube. If you want to see the music director in action, then you must watch the video on youtube. This one is a rather fast track with some very interesting, catchy and humorous words all thanks to Ansar Abbaz who has chipped in some no-sense words just to add to the WOW factor and help connect and relate to the song. The words would surely be hummed for long by the listeners and stay in their minds even longer. Although the video is more enjoyable, the song itself is a treat to the ears. The violin note in the middle stands out against the rest of the song. Simbu seems to have done justice to the words and has brought them to life with his unique style of singing. The song has the capacity to keep one and all glued right from the word GO with its lyrics describing Chennai best and also with the varied tunes being used. The fusion of traditional instruments with the western electronics stands out and creates magic. No doubt the song is nicknamed ‘Chennai Anthem’.

3. Oru poo Pookiradhu

A pleasant track brought to life by Harini and Harish Raghavendra. Harish Raghavendra does an excellent job and Harini complements him at every stage. The words are romantic and fill the air with the scent of romance. The variety of percussion in use here is staggering. The song starts off with guitar and ends with the same. Well! That’s something different. Yuga bharathi brings poetic essence to the number with his words. The song proceeds at a steady pace and rhythm. Worth more than a listen!!

4. Irulai Katti vai

This one is a wild cat in a forest. The song and the words have a resemblance to a similar song sung by Anuradha Sriram. The singers introduce a roughness to the song and it is part rap. This one is totally different with many elements being fused into one. It has some English rap in between. The flute brings a rustic effect to the song. The song tries to induce a dark mood and brings some seriousness and tension with its rendition. This one is obviously targeted at a section of the audience and not for mass consumption. The song should look better onscreen.

5. Rathathin Nuraraiya

A fast track. The singers and the background bring in a serious mood and probably some sorrow to the song. The tone of the singers keeps varying. While it was pleasant at the start, it gradually gets more serious towards the middle of the song. Thamarai’s words are thought-provoking and accentuate the mood more. The song slows down in the middle with a female background vocal rendering an enjoyable interlude. Maharajan’s voice is dashing and the rawness hits out with the pace of the song. The song pumps you up with emotion with its dramatic effects. The song grows into a tornado towards the end breaking through everything that comes in its way. Although the song might look interesting on screen, it loses sheen towards the end probably due to its lengthy duration.

Verdict: The Chennai Anthem is a must listen. Mixed bag! Not a bad song in the album although some are composed for video only.

Album

One would have felt that just five tracks for a movie is a bit disappointing and one or two more would have added some more beauty to the album. But At the end, listeners would agree that it would have actually spoilt the beauty of the album cos this is a good combination of tracks. This is a very good attempt by Ganesh Raghavendra. It has a couple of melodies[track 1 and 3] and a couple of serious songs[Track 4 and 5] that are obviously composed keeping in mind the requirements of the script but even then Ganesh has made a decent attempt at making them sound good when heard as audio songs. The melodies sound sweet on your ears thanks to the brilliant choice of singers for both the songs. Ganesh has also experimented with some innovation bringing in some folk touch to one of the songs and fusing western and Indian instruments in another. Track 4 is like something that was never heard before. Ganesh has been able to get best out of the singers especially in the last track.

The track by Simbu is of course the highlight of the album and no matter how many times you listen to it; it doesn’t tire you and is meant for the masses. It is good that they have understood the potential of the song and made a video of it. This is undoubtedly one of the best for Simbu as a singer as well as for Ganesh as a composer. The youth would just grab it with both hands and not let go.

The first three tracks are nice but listen to others only if you have a lot of time to kill.